Do you think Britain could have done anything differently in these years leading up to the American Revolution to avoid a revolution all together?

In reviewing past actions, hindsight is always a good thing. If we could know the results of our decisions before having to make them, it would make everything much easier. This also applies for the events surrounding the American Revolution.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the Proclamation of 1763 wasn’t issued. This would have alleviated the need for the Quartering Act also. The colonists would have gone west and claimed land. If the Native Americans attacked them, they would have expected Britain to defend them. If Britain had refused or were unable to do this, the colonists would have become upset. This could have led to events that could have caused the colonists to want to be free.

If the tax laws weren’t passed, it is possible Britain might have pulled out of the colonies because they were becoming very expensive to operate. The British probably wouldn’t have stayed here if they were losing money over the long run. However, it is unreasonable to think the British would really abandon the colonies without trying to do something to have the colonists share in the cost of operating them. The colonists most likely would have resisted this.

Certainly, the British could have responded differently to the events at the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. The soldiers didn’t have to fire into the crowd at the Boston Massacre. The British could have responded with less harsh laws to the Boston Tea Party.

While the British could have done some things differently, eventually the colonists would probably have wanted their freedom. The same thing happened with other colonies within the British Empire many years later. It is likely the colonists would have wanted their independence at some point in time. This most likely would have eventually led to war with Great Britain at some time in the future. It probably wouldn’t have been in 1776, but it probably would have occurred later.